Terraform Landscape Navigation: Is it the right choice for You?

Terraform For some, is the Swiss Army Knife of Infrastructure as Code (IaC). A tool of many talents ready to handle the gnarliest of infrastructure puzzles. As a three-year veteran of the Terraform trenches, I’ve seen it tackle multiple environments and heavy workloads with finesse. So, am I smitten? Absolutely. Does that mean you’ll fall head over heels too? Not necessarily. In this deliciously short and crisp blog post, we’re going to play the classic game of myth-busting.

As we embark on this journey, we will delve into its strengths and weaknesses, providing a more nuanced perspective. There have been instances where Terraform has shined brightly, demonstrating its maturity and effectiveness. However, we must also acknowledge the times when it felt more like an unwieldy elephant, struggling to navigate challenging scenarios.

A thing about Terraform

Terraform, the rockstar of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) from HashiCorp, is a cloud-agnostic language of HCL (Hashicorp Configuration Language). Picture it as your dependable conductor leading the symphony of infrastructure deployments – harmonious, consistent, and always on cue. The perks? You get to bid adieu to the chaos of manual errors and praise the standardized management, even in a pool of hybrid environments. So, whether your cloud tastes lean towards the tropical Azure, the cool breezes of AWS, or a medley of both. The Terraform orchestrates them all in perfect tempo.

Here’s a bird’s eye view of Terraform’s high-level architecture.

If your digital landscape cries out for standardization and version control. If you’ve got processes to establish around your infrastructure, Terraform might just be the toolbox you’re searching for. It’s packed with an array of features:

• Declarative configurations that focus on the ‘what’
• state management acting as a reliable memory for your infrastructure, and
• multi-cloud support that covers the breadth of the cloud universe. All these are underpinned by an ever-evolving community of maintainers and contributors. The best part? Terraform’s doors are always open, as befits an Open Source project.

But…

By now, you might be thinking Terraform’s capabilities sound like a superhero’s resume, right? And if they don’t, perhaps a full deep-dive into Terraform’s life-improving powers for DevOps pros, cloud engineers, and infrastructure architects is due in a future post. But let’s rein in our enthusiasm and trot back to the myth-busting trail we embarked on. Do you really need Terraform? It’s a shiny badge to add to your skills scout sash, no question there – especially if you’re eyeing career advancement. But the million-dollar question is: Is Terraform the perfect fit for your organization or specific project? Let’s dig deeper…

Do you really need Terraform?

The response to the ‘To Terraform or Not to Terraform’ question isn’t as simple as ticking ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The road to this decision is lined with multiple considerations that demand your attention before you crown Terraform as your infrastructure management champion. A few factors might not only sway your choice but also shape your understanding of Terraform’s role in your tech ecosystem. Let’s turn the spotlight on these key influencers:

Infrastructure Complexity

The first whistle-stop on our decision-making journey is the land of infrastructure complexity. Does your project look like a bustling city of cloud resources, with countless elements crisscrossing and interlinking? As this complexity grows, trying to track configurations can feel like herding cats. This is where Terraform steps in, brandishing its power of centralized configuration management. Think of it as a conductor, orchestrating multiple resource changes with ease, ensuring everyone is reading from the same score. It’s Terraform’s version of a magic wand, transforming chaos into harmonious order.

However, Terraform isn’t always the star of the show. Picture a small-scale project, with cloud services so limited you can count them on one hand. In such a scenario, wrestling with Terraform’s learning curve may seem like an overzealous commitment. If you’re juggling just a handful of virtual machines or containers, managing them manually or with simpler scripting might be the best. But, as your infrastructure begins to resemble a bustling cityscape rather than a quiet town, ensuring consistency and predictability can morph into a daunting task. It’s in these labyrinthine landscapes that IaC tools like Terraform truly find their spotlight

Team Size

The size of your team isn’t just a number on a roster—it plays a crucial role in deciding whether to welcome Terraform into your project or organization. However, it isn’t the sole decider in this game. Just like a single piece can’t win a chess match, team size alone can’t determine the appropriateness of Terraform for your needs

When complexity knocks on your infrastructure’s door and you’ve only got a small team to answer, Terraform can play the role of the superhero. It has the uncanny ability to simplify the management of intricate infrastructures, even with smaller teams at the helm. If your team isn’t yet well-acquainted with Terraform, think of it as an opportunity. Training them to utilize Terraform is akin to gifting them a power tool—it not only increases their skill set but also becomes a valuable asset for your infrastructure management.

Parallel Environments

If you and your team are sailing in a single-environment boat with no plans to venture into the choppy seas of multiple environments, introducing Terraform might be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It’s important to match the tool to the task—without a scaling strategy on your horizon, investing time in Terraform could potentially be a diversion from your primary goals

Terraform can feel like a magician, pulling out N-number of parallel environments from its hat, all based on your foundational configurations, and in record time. As these parallel environments multiply, keeping an eagle eye on infrastructure configurations across them becomes critical. Sure, you can tackle this manually, especially if you’ve got a DevOps elite on your payroll. Yet, even the best of us are human, and that tiny 0.00001% chance of error and configuration mismatch might creep in. With Terraform, you can significantly reduce this risk.

Terraform takes the complex dance of launching new services in a multi-environment testing scenario and turns it into a simple two-step. Given your release pipeline flows across multiple environments, Terraform becomes the maestro, enabling a one-click performance to launch and extinguish environments without breaking a sweat. It’s akin to having a magic ‘easy’ button for managing your complex infrastructure

So, if your digital playground is currently a single environment with less-than-complicated infrastructure, Terraform might not be on your guest list. At least, not for today’s party.

Tooling and Integration

Allow me to introduce the titans of the public cloud arena on the global stage.

Terraform stands tall as it extends its support to the major global dominators of the cloud realm. It includes AWS, Azure, GCP, and Alibaba Cloud. Here is a complete provider’s support list.

It’s worth noting that there could be specific providers in your integration ecosystem that might not enjoy full-fledged Terraform support. In such cases, it becomes crucial to thoroughly evaluate whether Terraform is the right fit for your use case. Consider the compatibility puzzle carefully before deciding to bring Terraform into the picture

Another crucial factor to bear in mind is the timing of Terraform’s support for the latest cloud features. If you’re an early adopter eagerly experimenting with cutting-edge cloud functionalities, it can be challenging to do so with Terraform. The support for those new features might take some time to arrive in the Terraform ecosystem. Therefore, it’s vital to exercise caution and consider the compatibility of your tools with Terraform. After all, finding yourself in a situation where a tiny missing piece halts your entire infrastructure built with Terraform can feel like watching your efforts go up in smoke.

Hybrid Cloud

One of Terraform’s standout features is its expertise in hybrid cloud deployments. This sets it apart from other IaC providers like Puppet, Ansible, or AWS CloudFormation. However, if your infrastructure is solely hosted on a single cloud provider and your primary reason for considering Terraform is its hybrid cloud capabilities, you might find that using the provider’s native tools—such as AWS CloudFormation, Google Cloud Deployment Manager, or Azure Resource Manager templates—could be sufficient for your needs. It’s essential to evaluate your specific requirements and determine whether Terraform’s hybrid cloud prowess aligns with your infrastructure strategy.

Conclusion

However, Terraform is not without its drawbacks. It has a learning curve, especially if you’re not already familiar with IaC concepts. Some also feel it’s less user-friendly than other options, such as AWS CloudFormation or Google Cloud Deployment Manager, when used with their respective clouds.

Furthermore, while Terraform’s provider ecosystem is extensive, not every third-party service is supported, or the support may not cover all use cases. This can require workarounds or resorting to other tools for certain tasks.

Undoubtedly, Terraform is an exceptional tool for achieving infrastructure standardization through Infrastructure as Code (IaC). However, it’s equally crucial to differentiate between when it is truly needed for a project and when it may not be.

Speaking from my own preference and experience, I have typically refrained from using Terraform for provisioning test and Proof of Concept (PoC) environments. Instead, I’ve encouraged the team to leverage Terraform once all infrastructure aspects have been finalized. This approach ensures that Terraform is employed at the appropriate stage of the project, aligning with the team’s needs and ensuring optimal utilization of the tool.

On the endnote…

In the end, the question of whether Is It the Right Choice for You. boils down to your specific use case. Terraform undeniably possesses formidable power to streamline infrastructure management. Its necessity may vary based on the size and complexity of your environment. For smaller and simpler setups, or if your cloud provider offers a suitable native IaC tool, Terraform may not be a critical requirement.

Additionally, it’s crucial to consider the skillset and preferences of your team. Their expertise and comfort with the tool can influence its suitability. Assessing these factors will help you make an informed decision on whether Terraform is the right choice for your unique needs

References

• Hashicorp IaC Documentation
• https://developer.hashicorp.com
• If you want to see more content on Terraform. Stay tuned to www.theserverfault.com as I will be coming up with more related content.